Sweet Dream in a Nightmare
by Wongvhan
Summary: Purgatory fic. Castiel is Dean's lover. He is Dean's brother. Dean is his father. What if he chooses to stay like this forever.
1. Chapter 1

The smell of Oak filled his sense. Castiel could hear a quiet sound of woods burning. He could even taste the fire roaring in the fireplace but what he loved the most is the the touch of a wool blanket wrapped around his body.

_Warmth and comfort?_ These two words seemed like a stranger to him. They both were luxury he could not afford, not in Purgatory.

Castiel opened his eyes and found himself in a small room dimly lightened. His trench coat was gone. He was curling in a mole of a blanket on soft mattress with lots of pillows by his side. On his right, a man was sleeping on a couch, his left arm fell off his temporary bed but his rhythmic breath shown that he was at peace in his dream. Castiel did not see the man's face to know who he was.

"Dean." Castiel got up, quietly woke his friend.

Dean shifted and just made a sound in his throat.

"Dean." The angel shook the sleeping man's arm. He's still not woken up.

"Dean!" Castiel snapped.

"What what?" The hunter suddenly shot up from his pillow, his hand immediately grabbed Castiel's collar. He was breathing hard contrasted to the way he was just a second ago.

"Dean, where are we?"

Instead of answer, Dean just released his grip and threw his head back to the pillow.

"Dean. This is urgent."

"Go back to sleep, man." Dean said drowsily.

"But."

"Sleep."

Castiel lost his patience. He got up on the crouch and hovered himself over Dean.

"Dean, get up!" He demanded.

"What again, man?" Dean protested.

This time, Castiel stared at Dean to let the latter know he would not take no as an answer. Dean sighed, rubbed his face and drew back his legs from under Castiel body so that he could hunker on the couch.

Dean stared back at Castiel as to mimic the angel's puppy-ish expression then he cupped his friend's face in two hand.

"We are safe now, Cas."

The angel did not understand that 4 words sentence.

"Remember? Sam'd got us back here yesterday?"

"But I don't…"

"We're on earth." Dean dropped his left hand from Castiel's face.

_We were in Purgatory. You and I were running from Banshees. Where is my trench coat? How could we be here in this…room? Why are you on the couch? _Of course, Castiel did not have to say any of these rather than just knotted his brows to make Dean understand what was going on inside his head.

When words were not enough, Dean decided to explain by his action. He grabbed both Castiel's arms, pulled him in so that their noses are no more than two inch apart. Dean cradled the back of Castiel's head, pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes.

"We have escaped, Cas. We survive." His breath lingered on Castiel's lips. "It was just a nightmare. Now, we are okay."

Castiel tried to pull back as he did not believe any of this. Dean was slightly startled by his reaction but, he leant in.

Blue and green met, and Castiel was memorized. Dean's lips softly caressed his like they were asking for permission. Castiel gave in.

/

/

"Castiel." Someone was calling his name.

"Castiel." That someone pressed him again.

"Castiel!"

And the angel of Thursday woke up.

"News flash, an angel can nap." The guy said mockingly. He ruffled Castiel's dark hair with his hand. "Much better" The man said, satisfied. Castiel noticed several of his brothers were chuckling too.

"Dean." Castiel grumbled, obviously annoyed.

"What?"

"I'm not a cherub."

_Weren't they supposed to do something? Be at some place?_

Dean shrugged. "You're still my litter brother though."

Castiel sighed.

Dean smiled. "Are you ready to smite some demon?"

Castiel nodded though he knew Dean did not need the answer.

"Good. Let's rock and roll." Together, they dived into hell in the quest to search for a righteous man.

Dean brought the wrath of heaven with him to hell. With one swift of his wing, he would send a pack of demon flew into oblivion, or just cut them apart in two. His grace was beyond comparison. When he summoned the holy light, hell lit up like a thousand thunders strike at the same time. No hellhound could come near the corporal of the garrison, their eyes would be burnt by just the sight of him.

But something did not feel right. Something was crawling in the back of Castiel's mind. A feeling he could not shake away. A feeling that this moment had already passed. Not like this.

They did not keep track of time or the brothers they had lost. When Castiel reached the deepest dungeon of hell, all he had left was Dean by his side and they have found him, the Righteous man.

"John Winchester?" Dean called out to the man on a rack. That man looked anything but human. He's a pile of meat with limbs that had been skinned alive.

Dean confidently walked to the man, his fingers raised as he was about to heal the body, but before the archangel touched him, the man on the rack laughed.

"Why are you still here?"

"What did you say, mortal?" Dean asked, obviously confused.

"I'm not speaking to you. I'm talking to him."

He motioned his chin toward Castiel.

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"What business could you have with me?"

"I certainly don't have any _business _with you." He chuckled. But aren't you supposed to be having other business, Castiel?"

"What is he talking about?" Dean asked.

"Come on, Castiel. Wake up!" The man howled and light was flooding everwhere in Castiel's vision.

He had to no way to defend himself but to give in and fell.

/

/

The low hum of the engine woke Castiel. He felt like it had been long and tiresome journey. They were always going to some places he did not care about the destination anymore. The car stopped but Castiel made no attempt to get up.

He felt someone unlocked his safety belt and scooped him up from baby seat. Castiel was half awake now but he wanted to just smell the leather jacket so he did not fight the man who was carrying him, instead he snuggled against his father's chest.

His father put him down on a comfy bed and covered him with a blanket, the one they carried around everywhere. He traced Castiel's ruffled hair and kissed his temple. Castiel loved it when his father did that. It showed he was beloved.

"Are we there yet, dad?" Castiel asked.

"Tomorrow, big guy." The father pinched his son's cheek lovingly. "Now, you've gotta go to bed."

"But I've been sleeping all day." Castiel protested. guickly grabbed his father's shirt. "Could you please tell me a story, dad?" He pleaded. "Please."

"Seriously? That look?" The man chuckled. "Move for your old man okay?" He fit himself on the empty space beside his son.

"No Snow White please."

"Why?"

"Because she marries the man who love her corpse. Ewwww."

The father shrugged. "How about the angel Castiel?"

"Yay, he's my favourite!" The blue eyed boy settled himself by his father's chest.

"Once upon a time" The father began. "There was angel name Castiel. He was a fierce soldier of heaven, though not the strongest one. Every other angels love Castiel the best."

"Why?"

"Because he has what others don't, compassion." His father continued, "One day he was order to go to hell."

"Why?"

"Because he had a rescue mission."

"Why?"

"Now, do you want daddy to continue or not?"

"Yes, please." Castiel whimpered.

"Sometimes, a good man went to hell for a bad reason." He looked at his son to see if the kid was still following. "But something happened to the angel the first time he saw that man. He fell in love."

"EWWWWW."

"Now, don't underestimate love. I'm telling you, Cas. Love can move the world."

"Really?"

"No, not really. But you see, The angel Castiel fell in love and he was beginning to fall from heaven himself."

"Love sucks."

"He fell from heaven because he decided to disobey his order." The father paused, increasing the tension of his story. "Heaven said he must destroy the humankind. He refused because the man he fell for just love human so much."

"Human sucks."

"Except one."

"Who?"

"You." He kissed his son's forehead. Castiel chided away. He loved when his father showed his affection. But not too much. He's going to be …. years old in the next two months.

_Wait. Just how many years old? He was …. years old. He was going to be …. years old. Why couldn't he remember his own age? _

**Cas.**

Someone was calling his name. The voice was familiar yet strangely faraway.

**Cas, wake up!**

Suddenly the image of his father flickered like a bad signal television.

"Getting tired already, champion?"

Castiel looked at those green eyes and decided that anything else did not matter anyway.

"Mmmhmm." He did not want to fight the comfort of his pillow. "But dad, what if the monster comes?"

The father smiled. "Remember what I told you."

"Monsters are afraid of us the Winchesters." They said together.

"That's my boy. As long as I'm around, I won't let anything hurt you." He patted Castiel's head.

**Castiel, I pray that you would get the fuck up. **

That voice was calling for him again. Why wouldn't it just leave him in peace?

His father was getting up and about to leave the room when he turned off the light.

"Dad?" Castiel called. His father stopped and turned around. "Is the angel Castiel real? Or you just name him after me."

"He is real, Cas." The man looked through his son's beady eyes. "He is real as long as you believe in him.

**Don't die on me, Cas. **

"Goodnight, Cas."

"Goodnight, dad."

Castiel closed his eyes and drifted off into his dream. Then he heard a voice. A different voice from before but still familiar and so powerful it could eclipse everything else.

_You can't go._

_Why? Where am I going?_

_Come back, Castiel._

_But I don't want to go back._

_Wake up._

_I'm tired. Can I just sleep? _

_Not yet, my child. Wake up now and return to him._

_Return to who? _

_The one who carries your heart._

Castiel opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a pair of green eyes glimmered by stirring tears.

"Dean." Castiel felt an ache all over his body, he did not the energy to say anything more or to move. All he knew was that he was safe in the arms of his friend.

"Cas." Dean said the name almost like a prayer. One tear dropped from his eyes, his nose was red.

"….Why are you crying?" Castiel had to ask. Usually Dean would hide his emotion away from everybody including himself.

"You stupid son of a bitch. I'm not crying." Dean sobbed and held castiel tighter.

"Where are we?" He began to connect things. He remembered being surrounded by Banshee while he only had a tiny bit of his grace left just enough to teleport Dean out of danger only to find out later those Banshee were controlled by Djinns "Those Djinns."

Dean could not answer. He did not want anyone even Castiel to see he was crying, especially when he was crying on his friend's shoulder.

Castiel tried to look pass Dean and saw at least 4 bodies lying in blood on the ground.

"Don't do that again." Dean said, almost whispered either because he could not believe he was saying this or simply too exhausted."Don't zap me away again. Do you understand?" It was an order. "We're in this together."

_We're in this together_. Castiel repeated Dean's words in his head.

He remembered all those Djinn's illusions. The Dean that loved him, comforted him, tell him bedtime stories and kissed him. They all had their own appeals but none of them were Dean.

Between the cruel Purgatory with monsters waiting to eat him alive and to the dream land where everything was peaceful,

Castiel would choose the real Dean, always.


	2. Chapter 2

Of all places Castiel could zap Dean to in Purgatory, he had to choose one of a freaking treetop. Damn that angel. Dean was pissed. Not only because Castiel protected Dean by using that last drop of his grace teleporting Dean to somewhere safe, but also because a pack of hyenas had been circling under the tree for hours.

Dean was not worried about himself, surely he had been targeted like a fish waiting to be shot in a barrel, but his situation was not as desperate as his friends. In Purgatory, though angels are somewhat connected to heaven, their graces are limited and took time to replenish after used up. The good news was that Djinn had a habit of slow-killing. They kept their victims alive to suck their life force continuously until the victims had no strength to go on. For the bad news, Dean could even make a list.

_Jigjigjigjig_

Dean hated the sound of these hyenas. They weren't really hyenas. These guys are a combination of a hellhound and a wolf. Big bad wolf. They were cunning, deadly and worst of all, worked as a team. _Sweet._

Dean climbed down to the branch big enough to support his weight but high enough to be out of the dogs' fangs. He leant against the trunk and tried not to fall asleep when he heard a voice.

"How's the weather up there?" It was a familiar voice with a perfect british accent.

"Balthazar" Dean looked down to see the angel in a dangerously low V-neck walked through the forest with those hounds waggling their tails around his feet.

"Enjoy my pet?" He patted the head of the closest one. "You see, in Purgatory, having an ally is good. A husband like you and my brother is better. But pets are the best. They don't stab you in the back."

"Go to hell, Balthazar." Dean retorted because it was in his nature to do so.

The angel snapped his finger and Dean's branch cracked. Dean quickly hugged the trunk as a reflex.

"Why should I? This place is much worse." The angel sneered. He disappeared from the ground and popped right on the branch above Dean. "You see, I'm having indecision. Good talking friend is hard to find, Winchester. Not that you are good, just intolerable. But on the other hand, I hate you."

Dean rolled his eyes. Balthazar did not miss that expression. He snapped his finger again.

Dean found himself in the midst of the air and falling. Below him, he saw a black sea of forest and it coming right at him faster and faster. He spun uncontrollably and the wind just pierced through his ears like he was going 120 mph. He felt like the ground was coming right at him. Too fast. Way too fast.

Balthazar snapped his finger again and Dean was back on the branch. If he wasn't already terrified at flying, Dean would start that now.

"Good. So may I have your attention and respect? I have some errand I want you to do." The angel said, his tone indifferent.

"Kiss my ass, you prick." Dean panted.

"Ahh… I see you still have your spirit. But you should hear my request first." He snapped his finger again and they were both on the ground. "The Djinns have Castiel as the moment we're talking. I'm giving you a spell. Save him, will you?"

_You son of a bitch. You think I'm gonna leave him_? Dean shouted with his mind.

Balthazar chuckled, obviously reading Dean's mind. "You're going to get yourself killed without my help. I'll give you 'Blessing from Ares'. It'll give you all the power you need in battle. Not that I care what would happen to you but if you die, nobody will save my brother."

"Why don't you save him yourself?" Dean spitted those words at the angel who replied by raising his eyebrows as if the answer was obvious.

"Duh, the magic can only be used with mortal. And if you haven't noticed, our power is limited here? Why should I put my foot in a cave full of a flesh-eating monsters for the very brother who killed me."

"Then why saving him at all?"

Balthazar sighed at Dean's question. " Brothers are brothers. You of all people should understand this. Castiel betrayed me and I still love him."

"I thought you don't have a heart." Balthazar reminds Dean of himself when fighting with Sam.

"I don't, Winchester."

The angel murmured some Enochian incarnation and put two fingers on Dean's forehead. Suddenly, Dean felt himself stronger, invincible, his body glowed with power like he could crush a tree if he wanted to.

"Before you go, I need you to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Don't mention me to Castiel. Don't say that I help."

Dean shifted. "I don't understand."

"How do you think Castiel must feel if he learns that I, the one he killed with his own hand, help you Winchester to save him?"

Dean had no answer. He isn't even sure he follows.

"My point exactly, another thing before you go…"

"What?"

"I still hate you". The angel snapped his finger and Dean is gone.

/

/

Balthazar clearly hated Dean and didn't afraid to show it. He sent Dean right in the middle of Djinn's nest. He's standing in a cave that looks much like a mine except for the fact that there was no mine worker, just a dozen of humanoid monsters in his sight.

"Hello, cutie pies." This is just like JJ Abram's Star Trek, Dean said to himself.

Dean took the advantage of surprise leaping to the nearest Djinn. The Djinn fell back by the weight of Dean. The hunter wielded no weapon so he used his bare hand rip apart the monster's mouth and tore its jaw out. Other Djinns stopped, seeing one of them lying bloody on the ground in no more than 7 seconds after the man in a leather jacket appeared. Dean slowly got up and used the back of his hand to wipe the blood off his face. Another male darted out with his claws widespread overhead. Dean just grabbed the monster's wrist and slams his other hand right at its elbow so the arm is broken upward in the impossible angle with a bone jabbing out. The monster screamed with agony. Dean didn't hesitate. He swiftly swung the Djinn in his hand 180 degree right into the claws of another Djinn striking at him from his back. Hand still stuck in its friend, the later Djinn tried to pull back but Dean pulled it in hard and use his human fingers pierce and scoop its eye out. He stepped back, leaving the two Djinns flopped onto the floor.

"Who's next?"

When Dean found Castiel, the spell Balthazar gave him was almost gone and the sight of Castiel just made his knees frailed under his weight.

Castiel had his hand tied up and hung from the cave's beam. One half of his face swelled and bruised, the other half covered in dry blood because he could no longer bleed more. The angel looks pale even in an insufficient lighting in the cave. His blue eyes gave no spark.

"Cas" Dean cried out and let his legs take him to his friends. He untied Castiel fast, though not fast enough as he wanted to. "Cas, wake up!" He ordered to the motionless body.

Finally, the noose loosed and Castiel dropped. Dean supported his friend so that the angel was half lying in Dean's arms.

"Castiel, I pray that you would get the fuck up" His voice quivered. Castiel did not even breathe.

"Don't die on me, Cas" Dean felt like the only friend he had was slipping away. He shook Castiel again but there was no sign the angel would respond. Dean let out a cry and nestled his face on Castiel's shoulder. One hand buried in the angel's hair and the others held him so tight there's not an inch between them.

Dear god, please save Castiel. If we've done something right, please save Castiel. He isn't supposed to die like this. Not here in this rotten place. Save him, please.

Dean prayed with every cell he had. He pulled back to see Castiel's face again. Castiel just looked like he's asleep now though he was getting paler and his body cooler. Dean did not hold the tear running down his cheek. He cradled his friend's jaw and planted a soft kiss between Castiel's brow.

Suddenly, Castiel inhaled sharply like he was being electrified. Then he started breathing again though weakly. Hope filled in Dean's heart.

"Dean" Castiel slowly opened his eyes.

"Cas." Dean acclaimed, clearly relieved to see his friend out of coma but not yet forgot the feeling of despair he just had.

"Why are you crying?"

Typical Castiel. Just gain conciousness and the first thing he did was asking why Dean cried.

"You stupid son of a bitch. I'm not crying."

Dean tried to hide his emotion but it only made him sob harder. He held Castiel tighter when he thought it was not possible. Castiel asked where they were. Dean didn't answer because it was not important now that his friend was safe in his arm.

"Don't do that again." Dean did not mean to say it in a whisper but he found himself too exhausted to speak in his normal volume. "Don't zap me away again. Do you understand?" He repeated. "We're in this together."

_And don't you dare leaving me alone. _


End file.
